A childcare center is expected to return to Jesse Lee United Methodist Church on Flat Rock Road.
Shelly Stewart, Priscilla’s Place managing director, said she plans to open a daycare center in the basement of the church. This is where a nursery school operated from 1968 to 2012, and closed due to a shortage of students, Stewart told the Planning and Zoning Commission at its June 11 meeting.
The previous school served 3- and 4-year-olds, Stewart said, and she will also accept up to six infants. The previous school had about 30 students, but the new operation will serve a maximum of 20 children, she said.
P&Z Chairman Robert Maquat said the new center would not need to file a new zoning application because it would occupy the same space as the previous operation, represents the same pre-existing use, and would be less intensive based on having fewer children.
“They’re not doing more than they were doing before,” Maquat said.
Therefore, Maquat stressed, the P&Z was simply “acknowledging” the new center and not specifically “approving” it. He pointed out the center must follow a number of childcare center guidelines overseen by state agencies.
Childcare centers and nursery schools are treated the same in the zoning regulations.
The P&Z can inquire about parking, traffic flow and road access. Stewart has met separately with the town building official and fire marshal on meeting code requirements, and bathrooms are being renovated based on their input.
When asked if the main nursery school access would be off Ridgedale Road, a dead-end street connecting to the church parking lot, Stewart said she was uncertain. The church and attached structures also can be accessed from Flat Rock Road.
An adjacent neighbor inquired about operating hours, increased traffic, landscape screening and fencing.
Stewart said the childcare center should be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and have three employees, unless more are required by the state.
The neighbor, who moved into the neighborhood after the former nursery school closed, asked whether the church would need to install a fence along her border when the childcare center opens. Maquat said a fence isn’t required by the zoning regulations.
Maquat told the neighbor she was welcome to return with concerns later, especially if problems arise once the childcare center begins operation.